Method of veneering



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IFEOD OP VBNEERING.

No. 424,484. PaitentedApr. 1., 1890.

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METHOD-OP VBNBERING. No. 424,484. l

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HENRIT II. KING, OF SPRINGFIELD,

ATENT FFICE.

AND BENJAMIN F. K. JENNINGS, OF

DAYTON, ASSIGNORS OF ONE-HALF TO RALPH A. VVORTHINGTON, OF

SPRINGFIELD, OHIO.

METHOD OF VENEERING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 424,484, dated April 1,1890,

v Application tiled July 17, 1889.

To @ZZ whom t may concern.-

Be it known that we, HENRY H. KING. and BENJAMIN F. K. JnNNrNes,citizens of the United States, residing, the former at Springfield,Clark county, and the latter at Dayton, Montgomery county and State ofOhio, have invented certain new and useful Im proveniente in Methods ofVeneering, of which the following is a specification, reference beinghad therein tothe accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to improvements in the art or method of securingthin sheets of veneers of costly and ornamental Woods to a base or backof plainer wood.

Veneer-woods as usually found in stock are warped or crumbled intoirregular shapes, as a result of the method by which they aremanufactured, and owing to their thinness and fragile nature they haveto be very carefully handled in applying them to a base or back in themanufacture of articles of furniture, dsc. In view of this condition ofveneers our invention is designed, among other things, to flatten theveneers in a rapid manner and without liability to cracking orbreakingthem.

Our method or art consists, essentially, in applying glue or otheradhesive substance between or upon the surfaces to be united;

in subjecting the veneers and the base with such substance interveningto the action and pressure of heat distributed upon and over the outersurface of theveneer, so as to flatten it and force the veneer and baseinto intimate contact and at the same time cause the adhesive substanceto enter the pores of the two woods; in removing the woods from the heator heat from the woods, and in continuing or maintaining the pressure,and in accompanying such latter pressure with the subjection of thewoods to the cooling action of an atmospheric blast arranged to act uponsubstantially the entire surface of the veneers with practicaluniformity, so as to set the glue and obtain substantially uniformcontraction.

IVe will now refer more in detail to the several steps in our art ormethod. It con sists in coating either the veneer or base, or

Serial No. 317,819. (No model.)

both, with glue or some suitable adhesive substance, and then applyingone upon the other irrespective of the irregularities in the veneer,whether warped in partA or throughout its entire body. For instance, thebase and veneer or veneers are subjected to the simultaneous appliedpractically over the entire surface or in areas sufficiently broad torapidly expel the warp from the veneer and flatten the veneer down uponthe base. Vhile this pressure is maintained the heat is operating torender the veneer more obedient and pliable, as well as to run the glue.l/Vhen this twofold action of pressure and heat has been continued aslong as may be necessary under the particular -circumstances of the kindof wood and the condition of the veneer, glue, dac., the material isremoved from the heat or the heat from the material, and the pressurecontinued or reapplied in conjunction with the lowering of thetemperature of the air immediately in contact with the material. The percent. of the cooling effects compared to the agency employed to effectthe cooling is very low when the intermediate surfaces are cooled andimpact depended upon to cool the material. Our method diEers from thisin the particular now being explained, in that we utilize the directinfluence and contact of the surrounding air, whose temperature isreduced, as the medium of cooling the material and setting the glue.This, besides economy of application, is more effective and more uniformand acts more quickly than by the impact method above alluded to. Whilethe suitable manner, we prefer to accomplish this by putting theatmospheric air in rapid motion, as by creating an air-blast anddirecting such bla-st against the material undergoing operation.

Under our method a veneer maybe placed upon either one or both sides ofthe base and treated in the manner hereinbefore described.

In speaking of the simultaneous application of the heat and pressure, wedo not mean to say that the pressure and heat shall take effect at thesame time, but merely that they temperature of the air maybe lowered inany' action of pressure and heat, the pressure being shall be concurrentin their operations--that is, that while the veneer and base are beingforcibly held together the action of the heat shall be in operation, sothat the glue or other adhesive substance may readily enter the pores ofthe woods.

For the purpose of making known one type of machine by which ourimproved method can be carried into practical eifect, reference ishereby made to the subjoined drawings, it being clearly understood thatthis is only one type of machine for this purpose, this machine beingthe subject of Letters Patent No. 415,276, dated November 19, 1889.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, andin which like reference-letters indicate corresponding parts, Figure 1represents a side elevation of the machine entire; Fig. 2, a verticalsectional view on the line of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a vertical sectional viewon the line y y of Fig. 1; Fig. 4, detail elevation and sectional viewsof the upper air-pipe, and Fig. 5 detail plan view and sectional viewsof the lower air-pipe.

Ve will now proceed to describe the drawings in detail, to enable aperfect understanding of this the preferred machine for practicin g ourmethod, and will incidentally state the operation of the machine. f

TheletterA designates a stout fran'xe o f theA l frame A, as moreclearly seen in Fig. 3. A central partition I may be employed tostrengthen the bed. To this bed is connected a pipe J, through whichsteam, hot air, or other heating medium is conducted to the interior ofthe bed to raise its temperature and cause it to soften the veneer andmake the glue more readily run into the pores of the wood. Vecontemplate veneering both sides of a body of wood at the same time, inwhich instance itis preferred to heat the bed H. Vtfhen veneering butone side of a board, however, the bed may not be heated unless theveneer were placed beneath and the board above it.

The let-ter K designates a movable platen, also preferably constructedof cast-iron, and

- of the same dimensions and shape as the bed H. This platen is hollowand is provided with a pipe L, having a telescopic or flexible joint tocompensate for the movements of the platen. Through this pipe steam orother heating medium is introduced. Standards M assist in guiding theplaten, which is mounted upon stout screw-threaded rods O, which rotatein the lugs P on the platen and travel in the screw-threaded projectionsQ on the main frame. There are preferably four of these rods and eachcarries a pinion R, which meshes wit-ha central gear-wheel S, mounted ona stud carried by the platen. The central wheel is rotated either bypower in any manner thatV may be preferred by the user, or is rot-atedby hand. For convenience, it is provided at intervals with handles T,which the operator may take hold of. This imparts uniform rotation toeach of the rods O and manipulates the platen up and down in perfectalignment with the bed H.

' Vthen a base or back of wood shall have been coated with glue or otheradhesive substance, and a veneer applied to either one or both sides ofsuch base, the same are placed upon the bed and the platen graduallylowered upon them, flattening the veneer or veneers and bringing theseveral pieces into intimate contact. The heat of the platen yor bed, orboth, facilitates the flattening of the veneer and avoids breaking orcracking them, while the heat also causes the glue to unite with thepores of the wood. The material is kept under pressure and heat,according to the length of time necessary with different kinds of wood,to accomplish the above objects.

We will now describe the series of rollers p and their adj unctivedevices.

The letter U designates the upper part of the section B of the frame,and is fitted with a series of blocks V, in which are mounted the lowerrollers WV. There may be a greater or less number of these rollers, thenumber shown being ordinarily sufficient. From Fig. 1 it will be seenthat the shaft of each roller at one end is provided with a pinion X,and

IOO

that a series of idlers Y are mounted upon the studs projecting from theframe U, and

.serve to connect the rollers, so that they will rotate at uniform speedand in the same direction. The upper surfaces of these rollers are inthe same plane as the bed H.

The letter Z designates a vertically-adjustable roller-frame, of whichthere is one at either side of the machine. These frames are providedwith long screw-threaded sleeves A', as seen in Fig. 1, and in thesesleeves are fitted threaded rods B', fitted to sockets C in the frame U,as seen in Fig. 2. These rods serve to support the frames Z and toadjust them up and down,so as to accommodate the upper series of rollersto the thickness of the material to be veneered, and so as t0 increaseand decrease the pressure of the upper rollers. The rods B each carryasprocket-wheel D', and a continuous sprocket-chain E connects thesewheels, so that they rot-ate in unison. The vare to be rotated either bypower or by hand in a similar manner to that de scribed with referenceto the gear-wheel S. Handles F are provided for this purpose.

The frame Z is constructed with a number of vertical slots G', intowhich are slidingly tted bearing-blocks H', with spiral springs Iarranged to normally press the bearingblocks downward against the plateJ of the frame Z. This construction affords a yield- IIO ing support forthe upper series of rollers. Each of the upper rollers carries a pinionK' of the same diameter as the pinions X, and a similar series of idlersL is'also provided to connect the upper rollers. It is preferred thatboth sets of rollers shall be positively rotated, but at uniform speed,and therefore we have mounted plates h' upon the arbors of the firstroller in the upper and lower series, connecting these plates by anintermediate plate O', and thus affording bearings for the intermediateidler-pinions P'.

In Fig. l will be seen a driving-pulley Q',

Y designed to receive a belt, by which rotation may be transmited to thetwo series of rollers.

We will-now refer to the means for cooling the material being veneered.This consists of a rotaryfan-blower R', of any Vof the approved types,preferably secured to the machine or in proximity thereto, and connectedby branch pipes S' to lengthwise pipes T', located along and near theends of the lower series of rollers, as seen in Fig. 2. At suitableintervals-say between each pair of rollers-a transverse pipe U' connectswith the pipes T', and serves to discharge air-currents through a slotor a series of perforations V' beneath and against the under side of thematerial passing through this part of the machine. These air-currentsspread and reach the entire surface of the material, acting to cool itwith rapidity and uniformity. Similarly arranged with respect to theupper series of rollers are lengthwise pipes W', also connected togetherby transverse pipes X', which extend downward at the sides of themachine, and thence crosswise in a plane slightly above the lower planeof the upper series of rollers. These pipes discharge air upon andagainst the upper veneer in the same manner that the air is dischargedby the lower transverse pipes. The lower set of longitudinal pipes T'are connected to the upper set by a suitable ilexible tube or conduitY'so as to compensate for the Vertical adjustments of the frame Z. Itwill now be understood that the veneers, after having been firmlypressed against the base and after the glue by the application of theheat has been made to enter the pores, the platen is raised and thematerial advanced within .the grasp of the upper and lower` rollers,which, being in motion, move the material on through the rollers,maintaining the intimate contact of the veneers and the base as theviolent currents completely envelop, act upon, and rapidly chill theglue and fix the material in permanent union. lVhile one piece ofmaterial is passing between the roller another piece or pieces may beurider the operation of the platen and the bed. The fan is driven by acounter-shaft in any of the usual ways.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim, as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In the art of applying veneers, the herein-described method, the sameconsisting in applying an adhesive substance between the opposite sidesof the base and the veneer to be placed one upon one side and one uponthe other, in applying over substantially the entire surface a directlyvertical fiat pressure upon said veneer while stationary to force themagainst the base, and also simultaneously applying heat to them, indiscontinuing the first pressure and the heat and continuing a pressureupon said veneer during a forward movement thereof, and in reducing 2.In the artA of applying veneer, the herein-described method, the sameconsisting in applying an adhesive substance between the base and theveneer, in placing the veneerand the base in contact, in simultaneouslyapplying heat and a atpressure thereto,in discontinuing said pressureand the heat and passing the veneer under a continuing press-V ure, andin forcing air-currents against substantially the whole surface of thesaid veneer at once during the continuance of the latter pressure.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses. HENRY I-I. KING. BENJAMIN F. K. JENNINGS.

Witnesses:

JOHN F. GRAY, g OLIVER H. BOGUE.

